Great itinerary, Not a great cruise experience

Item: Oosterdam
Rating: 3.8
Author: lwortzman

Oosterdam Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

lwortzman

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 71

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

11 Night Venetian & Dalmation Delight (Athens Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 21, 2024

Ship: Oosterdam

Cabin number: GTY

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 months ago

Review summary

I wanted and expected to love it but the ship was just so dated. Then to have the experiences with the Caneletto and Guest Services made it unpleasant. I pre-booked several other cruises because HAL has great itineraries, but I plan on canceling them at this time.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

It was fast and easy

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

We did not like the food in the main dining room very much. We ate on the Lido most nights and that food was very good. We ate at the Palmetto Grill and that was fine. And then we went to the Canaletto. There we had a terrible experience.They had changed the menu which was not put on the app. It was now a wine pairing meal and when we said we didn't really drink wine, the waiter walked away and he and the maitre d' had long conversation on what to do with us and that went on and on. Finally we got up and said we were leaving. The Maitre d/ thought that was a good idea and made no offer to have us go another day. We were very uncomfortable.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Not much to do if you were on board.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

It's quite amazing that this was the best they could do. We were left to wonder, and we were not alone, who does the hiring for this. It was a must miss.

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

99% staff was great. The Maitre d in the Caneletto should have been removed for how he treated us for not drinking and when I went to Guest Services to make a complaint on this, the GS person said she would take care of this and there was never any attempt to make this right or acknowledge that it happened. We found that if they couldn't figure out how to help you right away, they never tried to help further and dropped the ball. Very disappointing.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The common areas were cleaned but we were shocked at how old and dated the ship was. It clearly needs renovation in a big way. Also wish they would wash the windows in front of the ship so you could see out. The chairs and couches all need new cushions and it was all just disappointing.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

It was clean and a great size with a double sink in the bathroom but I would never sit on that couch. It was filthy.